Sphere of Trust
by RockSunner
Summary: This is an AU based on the premise: what if Velma had confided her suspicions about Angel Dynamite to the gang first, instead of going to Angel about it? Disclaimer: I don't own any of these characters. Spoilers up to episode 26.
1. The Break

**Sphere of Trust**

This is an AU based on the premise: what if Velma had confided her suspicions about Angel Dynamite to the gang first, instead of going to Angel about it? Disclaimer: I don't own any of these characters. Spoilers up to episode 26.

**Chapter 1 – The Break**

The gang was driving home from the beach after another successful case. The Fish Freaks had been caught and Dr. Cavenaugh rescued, along with the two Skipper Sheltons.

Velma brooded. She had trusted someone and been betrayed. Yes, Amy Cavenaugh promised to keep in touch. But it wasn't the same as a secret friendship with a real live mermaid. Who could she trust? Her friends, who had been with her in life-and-death situations over and over, that's who. She came to a decision.

"Guys, I need to talk with you about something," she told the others.

"Go ahead," Fred said.

"Yeah, ro ahead," Scooby said.

"It's about Angel Dynamite," Velma said. "I don't think she's who she says she is. That business about the oil drilling being kept out of the papers... she lied. She said it was in all the papers and that's how she knew about the environmental heebity-jeebity stuff. She had to have been here back then."

"Like, it can't be," said Shaggy. "She's been helping us so much. She's, like, a good lady."

"Helping us too much, with information she shouldn't have. Like that Cassidy Williams diary she said Mr. E left on her doorstep."

"I wondered why it didn't have his seal," said Daphne.

"What are you getting at? If she's not who she says she is, who is she?" asked Fred.

"I think she's really Cassidy Williams, one of the original group of mystery-solving kids who vanished twenty years ago," Velma said. "That's why she had the diary."

"Woah," said Scooby. "Angel isn't Angel? She lied to us?"

"That's a huge lie," said Daphne. "This whole side case is supposed to be about finding the missing kids. Now we find out there's one under our noses the whole time, who must know what happened, and she's just been leading us on."

"Her and Mr. E," said Shaggy. "He's got to know that about her."

"So, my question to all of you is: what do we do about it? Stop talking to her? Pretend we don't know? Or confront her?" asked Velma.

"Pretend we don't know while we keep gathering evidence," Fred said. "We work out by ourselves what she and Mr. E are really up to, if there is a Mr. E, and then we trap them."

"We could learn more if we talked to her," Velma said.

"No. She's lied to us and nothing she says can be relied on. She's outside our sphere of trust, and that's how it's going to stay," said Fred.

"All right," Velma agreed with a sigh. "She's outside the sphere of trust."

"I'm sad," said Scooby. "I liked her."

"Like, me too," said Shaggy. "This sad stuff is making me hungry. Scooby and I already finished the bucket of frosted clam turnovers Skipper Shelton gave us for saving him and his brother. How about we run by a pizza place or two on our way home?"

"Or three," said Scooby-Doo.


	2. Manticore Case

**Chapter 2 Manticore Case**

The next day, the kids had a surprise call from Major Jones. All of them were pulled from school to visit him in his office.

"I really hate to admit it, but I need your help," Fred's father told them. "Because this thing is partially my fault, I need to get it cleared up right away. I ordered a haunted temple off the internet for Creepy Spooky Terror Land, and now it seems it's haunted by a manticore that's eating tourists. Embarrassing, but there it is."

"Who would order a haunted temple from the internet?" Daphne asked. "That seems like a foolish thing to do."

The Mayor gave her a look.

"Sorry, sir," she said.

"Dad, does this mean we're bonding? I'm all choked up," Fred said. "Look, my hand's trembling."

"Suffering platypus squirrels, Fred, don't go girly on me," his father said. "I told you again and again, real men don't have feelings."

"Of course, Dad," said Fred Junior, straightening up. "But we can do stakeouts together, make traps together..."

"I won't be doing any of that," Fred Senior said.

"Oh... all right. But you'll be there in spirit,"Fred said. "Let's go, guys! We have a mystery to solve – and I have a Father to please!"

They went to Creepy Spooky Terror Land and took a look around. They met Winslow Fleach and his daughter Philomena, whom Velma always called "Hot Dog Water." There was clearly no love between those two. In fact, they were bitter rivals for the position of smartest girl in the school.

"I'm going to have to shut the place down," Fleach told them. "Nobody comes here anymore and it's burning through money."

"My computer simulations agree, Father," said Hot Dog Water.

"But how will I afford to send you to college?" Fleach asked.

"We'll get by," said Hot Dog Water, strangely confident.

_Perhaps she's relying on getting a scholarship_, Velma thought. _Good luck with that when I always beat her in the science fair._

They took the Haunted Temple ride and had a run-in with the Manticore, who nearly wrecked their ride car and threatened to eat their bones, but they escaped.

"Now what?" asked Shaggy.

"Now we need to do some computer searching to find out about that haunted temple site," Velma said.

"But, like where?" Shaggy said. "We'd usually go over to K-GHOUL and use the computer there, but now..."

"We could go to Chen's Internet Cafe, but Mr. E has that place hacked," Velma said.

"We'll go to K-GHOUL," Fred said. "We're acting just as usual, remember?"

They found what they were looking for on the internet – the site was a fake. Except for the haunted temple, the pictures of the remaining items were bogus. They were conscious the whole time of Angel Dynamite looking over their shoulders, but they tried to act normally.

"That's not a cursed tribal totem, that's the Statue of Liberty," said Fred.

"Right, but it did take some computer skill to set this all up," Velma said.

"This may mean we're not dealing with a real Manticore after all," said Daphne.

"You and I and Velma will go back to talk to my Dad," Fred said to Daphne. "Maybe whoever is behind this steered him onto that site. Shaggy and Scooby, you go back to Creepy Spooky Terror land and look for more clues... and I don't mean get into the nachos."

"Like, bummer," said Shaggy.

"Yeah," said Scooby. "I like nachos."

As the gang headed out, Angel Dynamite called out to Velma, "Hold on a sec, baby doll."

Velma came back nervously. "Yes?"

"Is there something going on, girl?" Angel asked. "You kids are as jumpy as a cat on a hot tin roof. And when I asked Scooby something he growled at me."

"Nothing," Velma said. "We're just nervous about the case. Fred wants to make a good impression on his father."

"You'll do just fine," said Angel, putting a hand on the back of her neck. "You always do."

"We'll get to the bottom of everything," said Velma.

"One question before you go," said Angel. "That puzzle-piece like thing you found. Who has it now?"

"Fred kept it," said Velma.

"Good, I just wanted to make sure you have it in a safe place," said Angel.

"Don't worry, we'll take good care of it," said Velma. "It's an important clue."

As she got out to the car, Shaggy held up a printed sign: "CAREFUL WHAT YOU SAY. I HID AND SAW HER PUT A BUG ON YOU."

Velma shivered. S_he suspects us, or else she wants to find out about the puzzle piece._

She grabbed a pencil and wrote on the sign, "FRED, I"M GOING TO ASK YOU SOMETHING. DON'T SAY THE TRUTH."

Aloud she said. "Angel just asked me about the puzzle piece from the Darrow mansion. Fred, do you have it somewhere safe?"

Fred said, "Yes, I have it hidden under the mattress in the top bunk in my room. I asked Dad for a bunk bed so I 'd have a secret place to stash stuff."

"That sounds safe enough," Velma said. "Nobody would think of looking there. Say, could we stop at a convenience store for a soda? I'm getting thirsty."

When she got the soda, she shook it and it sprayed on her when she opened it.

"Jinkies! Now we'll have to run by my house and get a different sweater," she said.

With another orange turtleneck sweater on and the bugged sweater safely rinsing in the washing machine, she said, "All right, we've confirmed it: Angel's bad. I think she wants our puzzle piece. It's either valuable itself or a clue to a treasure. Watch out Fred, she may go after that location."

Fred says, "I hope she does – that's why I gave it. It's one of my better traps."


	3. Too Late

**Chapter 3 – Too Late**

Shaggy and Scooby walked through the nearly-deserted parking lot to the gates of Creepy Spooky Terror Land.

"I know what we'll do, Scoob," Shaggy said. "We can't start on the nachos, but they didn't tell us not to start on other food. What do you say we, like, look for clues in the cotton candy?"

"Yummy," said Scooby.

They arrived at the gates only to find Winslow Fleach chaining and padlocking them shut.

"Like wait, let us in!" said Shaggy.

"I'm sorry, you're too late," said Fleach. "We've had another attack and I've decided to close down for good. Nothing, not the Mayor's son or the Mayor himself could change my mind."

"But..." said Scooby.

"The young man who ran my Nauseator ride was carried off. I can't risk any more innocents. If you had arrived sooner you might have prevented it, or more likely, become victims yourself. My daughter told me that your monster-catching is over-rated, more luck than skill."

"Is not," said Scooby.

"Just because we sometimes trip and make something fall on the monster is no reason to say that," said Shaggy. "It's karma."

"Your karma has failed in this case," Winslow Fleach said. "That's what happens when you show up without your whole team. Where are they, anyway?"

"Like, we split up to look for clues. They went to ask the Mayor who suggested he look at that website where he bought the temple."

"I could have told you that. He told me that he was planning to search on 'haunted attractions' to pep up the park – he told me that a few months ago. I told my daughter I didn't think it was a hot idea, and I was right."

"Like, you can't shut out our investigation. People disappeared in here, maybe... ulp... got eaten. You have to let us in to look for clues," said Shaggy.

"You're not the police and you have no warrant. I'm not required to let you onto my private property."

A voice called, "Father, guess what? I was shutting down the Haunted Persian Temple ride when I discovered a secret room. Look, all the people who disappeared were just locked up in there."

Hot Dog Water led the way as a small group straggled along behind her. Shaggy recognized a couple of them from an earlier case, a young man with his foot in a cast limping along and leaning his weight on the young woman beside him.

"Hey, Brenda and Dylan! Like, I remember you from when we got you out of the Man-Crab's cage."

"Hi, Soggy," said Dylan. "We're not in the best of shape for talking right now."

"Shaggy."

Brenda said, "Speaking of soggy, I'm dying of thirst. Please, do you have any Trickell's Trickquid?"

Hot Dog Water said, "We have plenty in the concession stands. Follow me."

The freed kidnap victims followed. One teenager bringing up the rear droned, in shock, "Hey, hey. Ride the Nauseator. No waiting, ever."

"That closes the last loose end," said Fleach. "With the park shut down, there will be no further danger to the public. We'll dismantle the Haunted Temple and that will be that. Case closed."

"But, like, it can't be case closed. We didn't get to unmask anyone," said Shaggy.

"I can't help that," said Fleach. "Any more questions?"

"You got any leftover nachos?" Scooby asked.

Fleach could only spare them a batch of churros, but they turned out to have gone bad, too spoiled for even the cast-iron stomachs of the boy and his dog. They dumped them into the trash.

When the others arrived they found Shaggy and Scooby sitting unhappily by the locked gates.

"What happened?" Fred asked.

Shaggy explained how they had been too late.

"They can't do that to us!" said Fred. "And of all cases, one where I was going to bond with my Dad."

Hog Dog Water came out, wheeling a fortune-telling machine on a dolly. "Here, try this machine. Maybe it can give you clueless detectives something to go on."

"Like, it's worth a try," said Shaggy.

He put in a coin and a fortune came out, "MEDDLING KIDS AND THEIR DOG WILL FAIL TO FOIL A PLAN."

The laughter of Hog Dog Water rang in their ears as she walked away.

"This has not been a good day," said Velma. "If we hadn't had to dispose of that bug, our timing wouldn't have been thrown off."

"It's all Angel's fault," said Daphne. "I hate her. Imagine, she abused your trust and planted that bug on you while pretending to talk to you as a friend."

Velma said, "I'm just glad I spoke to you guys first and you watched my back around her. She would have played me for a fool and bugged me without my suspecting a thing."

"She'll pay, once we catch her trying to steal our puzzle-wedge," said Fred.

Sure enough, later that night Angel came to raid Fred's room and was caught by the super-sticky stuff coating his upper-bunk mattress. The gang was hidden in the next room, ready for her.

When they turned on the light and came in, they saw a different Angel. Black-clad like a ninja, no fancy makeup, and no "jive" talk.

"Let me go," said Angel. "You have no idea what you're up against. The best thing you can do to save yourselves is to give Mr. E your piece and forget about this mystery."

"Give up what you tried to steal? I don't think so," said Velma.

"This mystery isn't over until we say it is," said Fred.

"I'm only trying to protect you. There are bad things out there, and bad people, after that piece."

"Yes, and we've caught one of them," said Fred. "Now, are you going to tell us everything?"

"This is not a safe time or place. I know my rights. I'm not saying another word without a lawyer."

She did say one more thing. As she was led her out the door in handcuffs past the Mayor, she said "Fred," in a flat voice.

"Cassidy," he responded, equally flat.

"You know her, Sir?" asked Daphne.

"An old school acquaintance, nothing more," said the Mayor.


	4. Call to Battle

**Chapter 4 - Call to Battle**

It was midnight, and Fred was driving the others back home in the Mystery Machine after the successful trap.

The radio turned on and they heard a familiar voice. "Well, Mystery Incorporated, I didn't think you would be quite that clever... and by 'clever' I mean extremely foolish."

"Mr. E!" Fred said. "Your game is over. We won't be listening to you and blindly doing what you want any more."

"The game is far from over, and you're going into it blind indeed. You've joined our three-sided game and made it four-sided one, but you won't last long. You've betrayed the one who cared the most about you," said Mr. E.

"Angel didn't care – she was tricking us, just like you," said Daphne.

"You're wrong. She would have helped you, given the chance. Now you're on your own."

"Who are these sides you're talking about?" Velma asked.

"Angel and I are the nicest you'll have to deal with, her more than I. Pericles is far worse. As for the Freak, his evil is unmatched and you'll never see him coming."

"F-freak?" asked Shaggy.

"We're not afraid of you," said Velma.

"Yes, we are," said Shaggy.

Scooby nodded vigorously. Velma nudged Shaggy with her elbow.

"You should be. Think about all ways I've gotten messages to you. That's only the beginning of what I can do," said Mr. E.

"We can do things too," said Fred. "We can solve this mystery and expose you. We've already got one of your agents in custody."

"That victory will be short-lived," said Mr. E.

"What do you mean by that?" Daphne asked.

"You'll see," said Mr. E.

"I can't wait," said Velma.

"Each of you will lose something precious to you if you insist on remaining in this game and don't give up the piece to me."

"Like, you're bluffing... I hope," said Shaggy. His eyes flicked back and forth between Scooby and Velma.

"Got to be," said Daphne, staring hard at Fred.

"Because of her role in betraying a friend instead of going to her and asking for an explanation first, I'll give Velma the first little sample."

Velma's text message indicator beep went off on her cell phone, and she jumped.

The message read: "YOUR BLOG AND ALL ITS BACKUPS WILL BE GONE IN 5 SECONDS."

Velma froze. The number began to count down. There was nothing she could do.

"Is that all you've got?" Fred asked. "We've heard threats a lot worse that that."

But the radio was silent. Mr. E had signed off.

Velma, trembling and on the verge of crying, threw herself into Shaggy's arms.

"Like, it's all right Velma. We're not doomed... yet," said Shaggy.

"Rit's rall right, Relma," said Scooby. Fear made his pronunciation lapse.

"That thing about our victory being short-lived... we'd better warn the Sheriff in case Mr. E plans to break Angel out of jail," said Fred.

They drove by the police station. The Sheriff had gone home and Deputy "Bucky" Buckner was on duty.

"Don't worry," he told them. "Our jail is perfectly secure."

"Would you just check on Angel Dynamite, please?" Daphne asked.

Buckner came back in a few minutes. "That's funny. I could have sworn she was here. Maybe the Sheriff moved her to the county lock-up. I'll ask him in the morning."

Velma said, "Oh-oh. Is anyone else missing that you thought was there?"

Buckner sighed and went back to check again. He came back frowning.

"This is getting annoying. Neither Alice May nor Grandma Moonbeam are in their cells, either."

"Zoiks! Ghost Girl and the Cicada Creature could come after us again," said Shaggy. "Like, Mr. E is calling in the cavalry."

"Rikes!" said Scooby-Doo.


	5. Spartan

**Chapter 5 – Spartan**

The next day, Fred drove them to school fast, dodging through the traffic.

"Fred, slow down!" Daphne said. "Why are you driving so fast?"

"I don't want to be late for school. Our new biology teacher is Dr. Rick Spartan, the famous adventurer. He's a hero of mine," Fred said.

"Do we really have time for hero worship?" Velma asked. "We have a lot on our plates right now."

"Where's the plates?" asked Scooby, looking around. "I'm hungry."

"He could help us," Fred says. "He's been in all sorts of tight spots around the world."

"Better be careful what we say in here," Velma said. "Mr. E could hear what we said last night, so he has the Mystery Machine bugged."

"I got up early this morning and checked it over completely," Fred said. "No bugs, and no trace. That guy is slick."

"Like, that's not good thing, now that he's declared war on us," said Shaggy.

Fred zoomed around another car, and Shaggy and Velma were thrown together.

"Sorry," said Shaggy.

"That's okay," Velma said. "You don't need to move."

"Does that mean... like, you maybe... like... want to be friends again?"

"Maybe."

"Well, um... maybe me too."

The van swerved again, and Scooby joined them. "Maybe me three!"

Velma grimaced a little at this, but thought, _Dog issues or not, I don't want to be alone when we're under such a threat. I can live with sharing._

In class, Dr. Spartan gave a vivid reenactment of his battle with a Headless Horror, ending with "...that gave me just enough time to climb up the rope using my left pinkie."

"Amazing!" said Fred.

"That's the way it goes when you live the life of adventure," said Spartan. "Right, Cachinga?"

Cachinga, his British "native guide" said, "If you say so, Sir."

Spartan dismissed the class early. When one student protested that there were still 45 minutes left, Spartan had Cachinga hurl a spear at the clock and all the students ran, except for Fred and the gang.

"Wow! Dr. Spartan, I'm your biggest fan," Fred said. "I've read about all your adventures. We have adventures, too. We solve mysteries, and we've almost been killed a couple of times."

"Don't you just love it when that happens?" Spartan asked. "Isn't it the greatest thing in the world?"

"Absolutely!" said Fred.

"Not really," said the others.

"We're in the middle of a big mystery now, and we could use your help," Fred said.

"Hmm, if it's not hand-to-hand combat in the jungle, with snakes and leeches everywhere you turn, it's not really my thing. But it's a sort of an adventure, anyway... I was afraid I'd be bored here. This is a pretty dull place, isn't it?"

"Not really," said the others.

"Come over to my house for dinner tonight, and we'll talk about it," said Spartan. "We're having cow."

The gang looked startled until Cachinga said, "He means steak."

"Come now, Cachinga, chop-chop," said Spartan, heading out the door.

"I hope you realize that if I were actually a native guide that speaking to me in such a manner would be rather racist," said Cachinga, but he said it so softly that only the kids heard him.

That night they had a pleasant dinner with Dr. Spartan and his wife, Marion. He was enthusiastic about returning to jungle adventures as soon as they had rested up a few months in Crystal Cove; she didn't seem thrilled.

"It's the little things you miss," Marion said. "Dishwashers, warm showers, not having to check your back for ticks."

After dinner the gang retired into the trophy room with Dr. Spartan to talk about the case. They outlined what had been going on, especially what Mr. E said when he turned on them.

"There are some clues we can follow up," Velma said. "I'd like to look into Mr. E's connection with Destroido Corporation. The CEO, Ed Machine, works with him. I thought he looked familiar when he spoke with us after the Aphrodite case, but I was sure of it when we met him face-to-face after the press conference the other day."

"Clues? That's boring stuff," said Rick Spartan. "I'm most interested in the Freak, the one he said was the most evil of all. I'd like to see someone like that show up here. I'd make short work of him."

The door swung shut, and then there was a rumbling in the ceiling overhead, and then a horrible figure burst through the wall. It had no head, but there were eyes and a huge twisted mouth on its torso.

"The Headless Horror! How could it have tracked me here?" said Spartan.

He rushed at it to give it a kick, but the thing expertly caught his foot and threw him across the room, as skilled as if it knew perfectly all of his fighting techniques.

Spartan lay on the floor stunned, but Fred picked a spear off the wall and urged Shaggy and Scooby to do the same. The monster picked up Spartan by one leg. Fred lunged with his spear and poked it in the eye, forcing it to drop its victim.

The creature backed off into the hole in the wall, saying, "I will return. I'll be with you forever."

"NOT!" came a voice from behind the Headless Horror. There was a glint of metal as something behind the monster slashed at it viciously with a curved blade. The Horror fell forward, bleeding.

The new arrival remained in the shadows. Not much could be seen of the face, but there seemed to be long horns on its head.

"What? Thanks, but that was a little rough," said Fred. "Who are you, some kind of masked vigilante?"

"Me prefer Freak. The Freak of Crystal Cove."

"The F-Freak?" Scooby jumped into Shaggy's arms, making him drop his spear.

"Me want the piece you have, or you and you loved ones will suffer. The Freak will be back."

With a leap the Freak escaped the way that the Headless Horror would have gone.

Fred started to give chase, but the Velma grabbed his arm.

"Wait, we have to help the Headless Horror," Velma said. "Criminal or not. I have a suspicion who it is, too."

"Another guy in a mask, then. Cachinga?" asked Daphne.

"No." Velma pulled off the top of the costume, revealing Marion Spartan.

"Marion?" Rick Spartan said. He rushed to her side.

"I wanted... to scare you away... from going to the jungle again," Marion said. "I used a fake temple, fake shrunken head, everything. The jungle's too icky... I don't want to go back out there."

"We'll work it out," said Rick. "I forgive you."

"I just called 911," Daphne said. "I told them she was hurt, but not how."

"We'll hide the costume," Rick said. "The police don't have to know about that at all."

"I wonder if the Freak knew," said Velma. "Or if she was just in his way and he didn't care."

"We've met all three sides now," said Fred. "Mr. E, Pericles, and now the Freak. It's open season on us. We have to solve this mystery as fast as we can – if we want to live through this."

"I want to," said Scooby-Doo.

"Me too," said Shaggy.

"Me three," said Velma, hugging Shaggy close to her side.


	6. The Haunting

**Chapter 6 – The Haunting**

Things calmed down for a bit after the Headless Horror attack. As soon as his wife could be moved safely, Rick Spartan quit his job at the school and left town with her. There was no more talk of helping them with the case. Apparently he had connected the dots between the Freak's threats of harm to loved ones and what had happened to Marion.

One day, Fred told the others at school, "I think something's wrong with my Dad. For the last week now he has run screaming out of the house every night and spent the rest of the night in on the lawn. What do you think?"

Velma said, "Usually, I might say that could be normal for your Dad. Maybe he just has nightmares. But we have enemies who said they would hurt us through our loved ones. This could be the next stage."

"That's why I have traps all over the house, to protect us," said Fred.

Shaggy asked Velma, "Like, any progress on the mystery? So we can stop being scared all the time?"

"I've been going through the Darrow Family archives chest trying to get a handle on what these puzzle pieces are and what these crooks are all after, but it's been slow progress. The Destroido clue has been a bust so far. I have no way to get to Ed Machine – his people put me off when I try to call, and his home address and number are unlisted," said Velma.

"My Dad might know," Fred suggested.

"I hate to bring him in on it," Daphne said. "No offense, but he's likely to do more harm than good."

"I agree," said Velma. "He's not exactly... sharp, if you know what I mean."

"No, I don't," said Fred. "He's as smart as I am."

Scooby gave a soft snicker.

"Like, in his own way. You know traps. He knows tourist traps," said Shaggy.

"But if he gets into this, and our enemies think he knows something, he could get hurt," Velma said.

"You have a point there," said Fred.

"One more thing. This is the second time your house has been a target. Cassidy Williams thought the puzzle piece we found was there. Mr. E doesn't know any better, but it's not actually at your house, is it Fred?"

"No, I thought of a safer place," Fred said.

"We've got it," said Scooby.

"You gave it to Shaggy and Scooby?" Daphne asked.

"Yes. They're the last people anyone would suspect of being trusted with something important," Fred said.

Velma considered, "That's actually pretty clever."

"Thanks," said Fred.

"But if Mr. E is behind this, he still thinks the piece is there. He may be trying to get to it," said Daphne.

Fred said, "Shaggy and Scooby, why don't you sleep over tonight and we'll watch what happens."

"Like, I don't know, Fred..."

"We have a well-stocked refrigerator," Fred said.

"You're on!" said Scooby. "We'll do it."

The guys headed out, and Daphne stopped to ask Velma, "Now you're dating Shaggy again, is he being overprotective of you?"

"Not particularly. I'm still dealing with the dog issues. He asked me out to a movie, but Scooby wanted to come along and wouldn't take no for an answer. So we compromised. Shaggy sat in the middle, Scooby sat to the left with a huge tub of popcorn mixed with Scooby Snacks to keep him happy, and I got to snuggle with Shaggy on the right. Oh well, half of him is better than none."

"Fred made out this twelve-page schedule so he can know where I am every minute of the day. I'm feeling controlled, like one of his traps."

"It's a good sign, I think. Remember we were told our loved ones would suffer. He's thinking about what could happen and how to be there to protect you. I've been thinking that about Shaggy lately."

"I guess, it's just... a little much."

Velma said, "Well, I'm going to ask Mom about sleep remedies, in case it does turn out to be nightmares. But I have a feeling there's something worse, like the Freak, behind this."

It was something worse, as the guys reported the next day. Fred Sr. was pinned to the ceiling and objects were floating all over his room. Shaggy and Scooby reported being attacked by an evil pizza and by other food in the kitchen.

"It was, like, awful," Shaggy said. "Food turned against us."

"We can't go on living," said Scooby.

"I'm sure you'll eat again," Velma said. "But it's more supernatural-sounding than I expected. Maybe we really should use Madame Marmelade, like my Mom recommended. She's a Haitian exorcist barista who works in the Spook Museum."

"Do baristas do massage?" Daphne asked. "I have this terrible crick in my neck..."

"No, they make coffee drinks," Velma said.

They went to the Mayor's office and proposed their plan to him for doing further investigations in the house.

"No way," said Mayor Jones. "I am not going back in there. I'll live in my office."

"But Dad," said Fred. "Just give me a chance and I know I can solve it."

"Solve away. When you're driven mad, and run screaming into the night, don't forget to pick up some more socks for me on your way out. I'm running low, and the ones I have left have sunflower seeds in them. I was finding seeds all over the house. More pranks from that evil ghost, no doubt."

"Food attacks again," said Shaggy to Scooby in a whisper.

"Interesting," said Velma.

"I promise I'll get to the bottom of what's happening or I'll give up mystery solving forever and do whatever you want me to do," Fred said.

"I have witnesses! No going-backsies," said the Mayor. "There is something I want. That criminal DJ: I'd like to know what she was looking for in your room."

"Sorry Dad, we decided it would be safer for you not to know."

"If you fail and have to give up mysteries, then you'll have to turn whatever you're hiding over to me."

"I promise," Fred said. "But we're not going to fail."

"We're not," said Velma. "Because I think we can solve it right now. Knowing about the sunflower seeds gives me an idea. Fred, do you have any traps that use nanobots?"

"Yes," Fred said. "They're the latest thing. I ordered a batch from Trap Magazine. They're too small to see, they can get into anything, and they can be controlled by computer to make things move."

"I thought so," said Velma. "Some of the other things last night that you told us about could have been moved with wires or magnets, but I can't think of anything else that would control a batch of freshly-made pizza dough."

"But they couldn't take over my trap system without outsmarting me," Fred said.

Everyone was quiet.

"Well, maybe if they hacked into my computer system, but they would have to be a genius."

"That's just what I'm thinking. A genius who eats sunflower seeds, and the only one of the three players in the game who hasn't done something to try to get your piece yet, Fred."

"Piece?" the Mayor asked. "Players? Game?"

"Oh, I wasn't going to talk about that. It just slipped out," said Velma. "Never mind. I think that Professor Pericles has hacked into your trap system, and he's using nanobots for poltergeist effects. The good thing is that what he's looking for isn't actually there in the house."

"That's good to know," said the Mayor.

"Now that we know what to look for, we can find any Trojan-horse program and viruses, clean out and restart your system, and change your password," said Velma.

"But I like my password," said Fred. "It's easy to remember."

"That means it's easy to guess," said Velma.

"How could anyone guess 'Trappin'Guy'?"

"Easily, and you just told us, so now for sure you have to change it," said Daphne.

"All right."

The Mayor smiled at them. "If this works, you've done me a valuable service. You have no idea how valuable."

"All in a day's work, Dad," said Fred. "We had one other question, if you don't mind. Do you know how to get hold of Ed Machine?"

"We weren't going to ask him that!" Daphne reminded him.

The Mayor frowned. "Chirping camel crickets! You should stay away from Ed Machine. He's a dangerous man with too much power and no ethics. Why do you want to talk to him?"

"You know we just solved a case about his old oil platform," said Velma. "We had some follow-up questions."

"No. Leave follow-up to Sheriff Stone. You did well to catch that gang of eco-terrorists. Though the Fish Freaks could have been another good revenue stream."

As they walked back to the car, Fred said, "I think it was worth a try to ask."

As he sat in the seat of the Mystery Machine he heard something crinkle. He jumped out and checked the seat and found a paper bag pushed into a crack.

The bag had block letters printed on it. "YOU ARE IN GREAT DANGER. YOU MAY NEED THIS SOON."

Inside the bag was a latex mask.

"It looks like, like, the Creeper's mask," said Shaggy.

"Ro no!" said Scooby-Doo.

"It's not the same," said Velma. "This one is paler, almost white."

"Alice May?" asked Daphne.

"But... why would she be trying to help us? And what help is a mask? Is it some kind of joke, like we need masks now because we're as bad as the bad guys?" asked Velma.

"It looks like we have another mystery on our hands." said Fred.


	7. Crimey

**Chapter 7 – Crimey**

Mayor Jones walked to the podium. "Welcome everyone, to the 215th Annual Crimey Awards. Before I announce the winner, I you need to realize that if I haven't friended you it's not going to happen, so stop with the poking!"

Sherrif Bronson Stone took a seat near the podium and Deputy Buckner congratulated him on his victory to come before running off to get him some cotton candy. The town had been buzzing with the news of a crime-fighting ghost named Dead Justice, but Stone wasn't worried – much.

"Do you think we might be up there winning a Crimey someday?" Fred asked Daphne.

"Yes, I know we will. I believe in you," she said.

"The envelope please. The winner of the Crime-Fighter of the Year Award is... once again our own Sheriff Bronson Stone!"

Stone came up and accepted the award. "You like me! You really like me!"

There was a clap of thunder and a cloud of smoke, and Dead Justice appeared on a glowing horse. "I don't care! Awards are for sissies! All I care about is justice. I'll make you see I'm the better lawman."

He fired at the award and split it in two while Sherrif Stone was holding it.

"Bouncing baby oysters, the last thing we need in this town is another vigilante horning in on real law enforcement," said the Mayor. "Sheriff, call all your deputies together and arrest that ghost. He can still be a tourist attraction in jail."

Dead Justice took off with a "Hi ho, Greg!" and vanished in a cloud of smoke. He was never seen in town again.

"Thank you, Sir, for standing up for me," said Sheriff Stone.

"I was tempted to give the award to him, even your job, but too much is going on," said the Mayor. "Better a useful idiot I can control – just joking. Congratulations, Sheriff."

"When he says, 'another vigilante' do you think he means us?" Fred asked. "We're not vigilantes, are we?"

"Technically, when we investigate crimes and trap criminals..." Daphne said. "In his eyes."

"He's been grouchy with me ever since someone robbed the safe in his bedroom," Fred said. "Apparently it had an easy three-digit key - his age and the pound sign."

"Like father, like son," said Daphne.

"No, we're not that much alike. My father will never understand me. You're the only one who does," Fred says.

"It's so sweet of you to say that," Daphne said.

"Let's go over to the Clam Cabin. I have something to ask you."

"As long as you don't ask me to eat the seafood. You know what it does to my complexion."


	8. Pawns

**Chapter 8 - Pawns**

The gang met for breakfast at Lurkin's, a downtown restuarant. They used to meet at the K-GHOUL station, but now that was out of the question. Shaggy and Scooby ordered huge stacks of pancakes with sardines, and wolfed them down. Velma had little appetite. Fred and Daphne ordered food, but spent most of the time gazing into each other's eyes.

Velma reported on her progress. "Because of that mask, I rechecked my notes from the old Creeper case. Deacon Carlswell never had a daughter. I think the whole Alice May case was a set-up by Mr. E to get that old yearbook to us. He broke her out of jail, along with Cassidy Williams and Grandma Moonbeam. He doesn't want us talking to anyone connected to him or to Ed Machine."

"Like, he had a guy kidnapped and held prisoner for days, just to give us an old book? That's, like, way creepy. Why?" Shaggy asked.

"We might be suspicious if it looked like all the clues came from him," said Daphne. "But you're right – it shows that Mr. E's not nice man at all."

"There are other weird aspects to the Creeper case," Velma said. "Carlswell looked old and out-of-shape, but he got a huge log into the road, and then knocked out a bank guard when he got out of his car to clear it."

"He could do it with the right kind of chains to haul the log with his car," Fred said. "I'm sure I've seen that sort of thing in Traps Magazine."

"Maybe..." Velma said. "I was also looking at the puzzle piece we found. I brought a tracing along to look at; I wouldn't dare bring the real thing out in public these days."

She held it up to the light, then in a moment of inspiration flipped it around and looked at it with the light shining through it. "It almost looks like a word... FUEGO."

"Is a word," said Scooby. "Our favorite hot sauce, Cabeza de Fuego."

"Fire head, in Spanish," said Shaggy.

"Of course!" said Velma. "The conquistadors who made it spoke Spanish."

"Aren't some of the books in the Darrow archive chest written in Spanish?" Fred asked. "We need to get that chest and take it to the University for some translation help."

"Who would help?" asked Shaggy.

"Professor Hatecraft would," said Daphne. "He owes us his life."

As they walked back to the Mystery Machine they saw Franklin Fruitmeir out in front of his shop with a tray of his green concoctions hung from a sling around his neck.

"Celebrating our grand re-opening!" Fruitmeir said. "Free Fruitmeirs for everyone!"

Scooby charged, but Fruitmeir jumped out of the way and held off the slobbering dog with one hand.

"I want free food!" said Scooby.

"Down boy, one sample to a customer," said Fruitmeir. "You're from a rich family; you can afford to buy all you want."

"Like, I'm glad to see you back in business," said Shaggy. "I missed you after a Humungonaut destroyed your place."

"It took a while, but Max Minner's insurance paid off, even with Max in jail" Fruitmeir said.

The rest of the gang waited outside the store, eating a single free sample each, while Scooby and Shaggy ran in to buy huge portions. Then they got the trunk from Velma's house and went to campus to find Professor Hatecraft.

Hatecraft didn't want to help at first. He was too busy trying to learn how to write like Regina Wentworth, author of the successful "Dusk" novels and Dean Fenk's current favorite. The gang offered to help him with his writing for teens, in return for Spanish translations.

"We've been teens, like, forever," Shaggy said.

"Don't worry," said Fred. "The Dean will never know we were here."

The Mystery Machine exploded in front of them. A figure wearing strips of black leather appeared out of nowhere. "I am the Obliteratrix," she said. "I have only one purpose: to destroy Mystery Incorporated!"

"The Mystery Machine!" said Shaggy.

"My trap supplies!" said Fred.

"The trunk!" said Velma.

"Forget that!" said Daphne, and then both she and Scooby said "RUN!"

They ran, and the Obliteratrix filled their path with concussion bombs. They finally escaped, only to discover they had charged into a Dusk reading by Victoria Wentworth, and the Dean was there.

Later, they watched as Wentworth and the Dean were interviewed by TV news people, with Wentworth snickering about Hatecraft being an "oldie olderson writer."

"They picked on the wrong van," Fred said. "The Mystery Machine will be avenged."

"Mr. E, taking something precious to us," Velma said.

It turned out she was wrong. While Shaggy and Scooby helped Hatecraft with a critical reading of his teen novel, _The Disinterment of Roth Van Anuroth - Yo Yo Yo_, Velma, Daphne, and Fred dug in the library for clues. Fred's cell phone gave a belch.

"I have a phone app that tells me when someone moves my stuff. And that's impossible unless... the Mystery Machine's alive!"

They collected Shaggy and Scooby at Hatecraft's house, and Hatecraft "borrowed" a campus van with Dusk advertising on the side. They got the Mystery Machine back intact, even though they had to face the Obliteratrix again and Hatecraft lost his job when the Dean found out about the van.

But with the trunk back in their possession they quickly picked up a clue.

"Some of these old documents mention 'vidrios de colores'," said Hatecraft. "Colored glass."

"As in stained glass?" asked Daphne.

"Yeah," said Scooby. "Like the old church where Pericles and me went to get stuff to stop Aphrodite."

"Stuff he didn't really need, since he was the one who told her how to make the formula in the first place," said Velma. "Pericles said he was really after an old ship manifest. We've got to go out there and look for more clues."

At the old Spanish church they discovered a pin belonging to the old Mystery Incorporated. Soon after that, they discovered the secret entrance to an underground shaft.

"This must go down into the Crystal Cove caves," Daphne said. "I wonder if anyone else knows about it."

"No," came the machine-altered voice of the Obliteratrix. "It's a secret that will die with all of you, tonight. Because... I love all of you, so much."

Velma noticed pink powder sifting down on the Obliteratrix. "Cover your noses!"

Professor Pericles flew down with a chemical vial in his claws. "Well, hello children. It seems you have another enemy, and no friends left to help you. I'm not your friend, but I still require you alive. Come over here, Obliteratrix. Show us who you are and tell us who sent you."

"Of course, you lovely bird," said the Obliteratrix. She pulled off her mask.

"Alice May?" they all said in surprise.

"Who is Alice May?" asked Hatecraft.

"That's not my real name, dear man. I'm Stacy Gwen, professional mercenary. So pleased to meet you. May I have a hug?"

"No!" they all said, trying not to get a whiff of the Aphrodite formula on her.

"Awww, all right. What was your other question again, darling Professor Pericles?"

"Who sent you to kill these children?"

"It was Mr. E, and his purpose was never to hurt any of these sweet kids. It was all special effects. The real purpose was to draw you away from your piece of the Planispheric disk, and it seems to have worked. I'm terribly sorry about that. Ed Machine is probably stealing it as we speak."

"What?" said Professor Pericles, seeming angry for the first time. "After all the trouble I went to in order to get it from Fred Jones, who stole it from me? I'm annoyed with Mr. E. I wish I could stay, Mystery Incorporated. It would have been such a golden opportunity to infect you with the formula and to compel you to give me your piece, but I must protect my own first. Auf wiedersehn, children."

As he flew away he called back over his shoulder, "Now Miss Stacy, be a good girl and throw yourself off the cliff outside this church, won't you? It will send a little message to my old friend Ricky."

Scooby-Doo jumped on Stacy as she started for the door. Fortunately she was too befuddled by the potion to put up a fight with the weapons in her suit.

As she was being driven away in the police car by Sheriff Stone, they could hear her saying, "Please don't take me away from here. I have to throw myself off the cliff like my love-bird said."

Fred asked the others, "Will it ever wear off?"

"I don't know," said Velma. "But I watched Pericles make a batch of the antidote. I'll figure out how to cure her."

Dean Fenk arrived in the Dusk van to tell Professor Hatecraft that a song based on his "Char Gar Gothakon" book was a huge hit in Japan, and that it would make tons of money for the University, so he was forgiven. Also that vampire books were out now, and so was Regina. He waved to the gang as he and the Dean drove off.

"So this is what it's like to play the game," said Shaggy. "Like, they play rough."

"Why do I feel like we're the pawns?" asked Velma.


	9. Secrets Revealed

**Chapter 9 – Secrets Revealed**

Velma's email went out with one word - "MIDNIGHT," and now the gang was gathered in front of City Hall.

"I don't like this. I'm sure my Dad has nothing to do with the cursed treasure or the Planispheric Disk," said Fred. "Pericles was lying."

"We have to check out every lead," Velma said. "Time's running out for us."

They entered the Mayor's office with the keys Fred stole from home.

"Like, what are we looking for?" asked Shaggy.

"Anything," said Velma.

Fred picked up a picture of his mother, identical to the one on the mantel at home.

Velma found a switch, and a secret drawer popped open from the side of the desk, It struck Shaggy, who bumped into Fred, who dropped the picture to the floor, breaking the glass,

While the others looked at the old scroll they discovered, Fred turned over the image and found printed text on the back. He put the picture into his pocket to study later.

"This looks like our piece, of... what did Alice May call it?" Daphne asked.

"The Planispheric Disk," said Velma. "And here's a tracing of one piece. This must be the piece Mayor Jones had that Pericles stole."

"There must be an explanation for why my Father has this," Fred said.

The gang headed toward the front door of City Hall. Then a figure with horns and long claws stepped from the shadows.

"The Freak!" Fred said. "Run!"

They crashed through the front door to land in a heap. The flashing lights of a police car told them they were not alone.

"Nyeh heh heh, Boy, are you in trouble. Again!" said Sheriff Stone.

The gang sat in a jail cell again, waiting for their parents to arrive.

"I wasn't expecting the Freak," said Velma. "He hasn't made a move for a while."

"Don't say too much in here," Fred said. "Mr. E has too much access. He sprung people from jail and he probably bugged the place."

Soon the parents arrived and bickering began. "They have improper supervision," said Paula Rogers. "Who's paying for this lifestyle of theirs? It's not like they have jobs."

"They're vicious repeat offenders," said Sheriff Stone. "Vicious. We'll keep them locked up."

"No, let him go," said the Mayor with a sigh. "I'm not pressing charges."

"Awww, really Sir?" said the Sheriff. He released the kids from lock-up.

"I think some aromatherapy would cleanse the air," said Angie Dinkley.

"Nobody wants that stink, hippie," said Colton Rogers.

"Your daughter must be after our son for his money," said Paula. "She's not good enough for him."

"You'd rather he stuck with his dog?" Angie asked.

"We have a plan to deal with that, if we have to," said Paula.

"Daphne, I forbid you to see that Jones boy ever again," said Nan Blake.

"You can't separate us. We're engaged!" Daphne said. "Tell her, Fred."

Shaggy, Velma, and Scooby all asked, "Engaged?"

"Huh? Oh yes, I love Daphne. I care for her as much as traps, solving mysteries, the gang, and my Father. It's a five-way tie," said Fred.

"We'll get married as soon as we graduate," said Daphne. She looked a little grim about being in a five-way tie for Fred's affections, but she was making the best of it.

Barty Blake fainted. Nan and Fred Sr. dragged the engaged couple apart.

As they all were pulled off in various directions by their parents, Fred said. "Velma, take care of things."

"On it," said Velma, scooping up the picture of the Planispheric Disk from the Sheriff's desk as she went by.

"Shaggy and Scooby – never mind." Fred decided to say nothing in this bugged environment about the piece in their room.

Velma's parents were the most comforting and accepting of the lot. They didn't lecture her, just sent her back to her bedroom.

She had the Creeper-like latex mask in her hands when she heard a noise at the window. It was forced open and the Freak of Crystal Cove slipped in. "Give Freak what is mine!"

Velma nearly panicked but she decided to try something. Criminals are a superstitious lot. She pulled the latex mask over her face and said in a growling voice, "You have the wrong person. I am a ghost!"

The Freak looked startled and backed away. Velma took the chance and grabbed up the picture of the Disk, dived out the window, and rolled across the lawn. She was surprised because the leap was much easier than she expected.

Ed Machine was in a car in front of her house, the engine running. "Get in if you want to live."

She turned to run again, but Ed moved with lightning speed and pulled her into the car.

"That... that was faster than a human could move," Velma said. "What are you?"

"A robot, a stand-in for Mr. E. He is the real CEO of Destroido. I protect his identity and carry out his orders. Just now, his orders are to take you to a safe-house away from the Freak."

"Safe-house?" Velma asked. "Safe from one enemy and captured by another."

Ed Machine had nothing else to say. The car door was locked and there was no way to open it on her side. Velma took off the mask and tucked it into her waistband along with the Disk picture. There was no point in trying to intimidate a robot.

At the isolated safe-house were Daphne, Fred, Shaggy, and Scooby. And so was Angel Dynamite/Cassidy Williams.

"You!" said Velma. "I might have known you were still around and up to no good."

"I know we have trust issues," Cassidy said. "But when the needle's in the red you have to dance with the devil sometimes. We got you away from your homes for your own protection. The Freak would have raided you one after another until he got what he wanted. Truce?"

The kids nodded.

"I'll tell Mr. E that they're safe. The rest is up to you," said Ed Machine, heading out the door.

"I have food and blankets here so you can stay for a few days until we work out what to do," said Cassidy.

Trap-wise Fred noticed the door of the room she was leading them into locked from the outside. He pushed her in quickly and locked it.

"Sorry, the adults around here have done enough harm," he said.

The gang went out to the Mystery Machine. "We're going back to the old Spanish church," Fred said. "Velma, will you be able to work out anything from the picture?"

"We've got the piece," Scooby said.

"I'll do my best," said Velma.

At the church they opened the secret passage they found before and rappelled down with ropes Fred had in the Mystery Machine. Velma was able to work out a location using the one real piece of the Disk, the cut-out piece, and the notes Professor Pericles made on the map.

They walked to the location and found a high pile of skulls and bones with spears sticking out of them. On top of the heap was a closed chest. Behind that was an old wall with two water-spouts in it.

They climbed the pile and Fred pushed open the chest lid with one of the bones. It was empty, with only a button sticking out of the bottom. Fred was about to push the button when there was a rushing sound nearby.

"The Freak!" Shaggy said.

"Sorry to disappoint, children," said Professor Pericles. "It's just you and me, nice and cosy, with nobody to protect you or your piece of the Planispheric Disk."

"We're not afraid," said Velma. "I made up a batch of antidote to your Aphrodite potion and we all put it on before we went to the Mayor's office tonight. We're immunized."

"I have other means, and I don't wish to hurt you," said Pericles.

"I DO!" said a voice behind him, and a clawed hand knocked the criminal parrot aside. "Piece MINE!"

The Freak charged Velma and snatched her piece, knocking her down and causing her to lose her glasses. The Freak ran off fast.

"Now to trap him the old-fashioned way," said Fred.

He kicked the chest, which pulled ropes attacked to it, expecting to spring some sort of trap. He was correct, because the whole wall behind the bone heap broke open and ocean water roared through.

Everyone was swept along with the current and managed to swim to the surface by the sea, below the cliff on which the old Spanish church was built. They spotted the Freak climbing up on a rope, then climbing the cliff face. Fred climbed after him.

"Fred, no! Be careful," Daphne said.

At the top Fred caught hold of the Freak's leg, but the Freak kicked and the loose cliff face crumbled. Fred was left clinging to a beam that swung out over empty space.

The Freak hesitated as Fred called for help, almost going back to him. Then he said, "Old Mystery Incorporated has interfered too much with the Freak. Your blood's on their hands."

Below, the others watched as Fred began to lose his grip. Velma took the mask she had tucked into her waistband and pulled it on.

"Like, this is not the time for trick-or-treat, Velma," said Shaggy.

"Don't go crazy on us," said Scooby.

But Velma moved under Fred in a series of amazing leaps, then jumped her way up the cliff face until she got above Fred on the cliff edge and gave him a hand to solid ground.

"Thanks, Velma. I'll ask you later how you did that," Fred said. He charged after the Freak and brought him down with a tackle.

Police-car lights shone on the scene and their parents were all there.

"Who is this freak?" Sherrif Stone asked.

"I'll show you," said Fred. "He's... my father."

He pulled off the mask to reveal the face of the Mayor, Fred Jones Senior.


	10. Blank

**Chapter 10 Blank**

"How did you know?" asked Mayor Jones.

Fred said, "I checked both pictures of my mother. They were just cut-outs from a magazine. I told myself that was all right. Maybe she was a magazine model and that was the best picture of her you had. But then I saw the date on the back; it's the same date you said I was born. Still, I wasn't sure, until now. Why did you do it?"

"Why do you think?" said the Fred the Freak. "The cursed treasure. I came to Crystal Cove because of it, and got a place in the History Department at Darrow University. That gave me access to the town archives, and I read about the lost conquistadors. That's when I first put on the mask, to hunt for the Planispheric Disk and scare off any others searchers. But I found nothing, until the old Mystery Inc. approached me with a scroll.

"Only Pericles knew what they had. In exchange for my knowledge, he betrayed them. We made forged documents framing their parents; they had to give me their piece and leave town forever or I would use them. I did this as the Freak; at that time they didn't know who I was.

"That left only one loose end – Pericles knew too much. I chloroformed him and threw him to the ground, onto broken glass. That's how his eye got injured. I framed him for the disappearance of Mystery Incorporated and got him locked up in the Asylum before he ever regained consciousness.

"Becoming Mayor allowed me to continue my search for the other pieces. And I would have found them, too, except for those meddling grown-ups, the old Mystery Incorporated."

"That doesn't explain what happened to my mother," Fred says. "Where is she?"

"The truth is I don't know," said the Freak. "I assume she's still with Brad Chiles."

Daphne opened her locket and looked at the picture of the couple inside. "You're saying Judy Reeves is Fred's mother? But then his father would be..."

"Yes," said the Freak. "Brad Chiles is your real father."

Fred gasped in shock.

"Two years after they left, Brad tried to return to Crystal Cove. By that time they had married and Judy had given birth to a baby boy. To stop Brad, I took you, promising you would be safe as long as they stayed away."

"All this for a treasure no-one is even sure exists?" Fred said, grabbing the Freak. "Give us back the piece."

"Fred, you're still my son. I raised you..." the Freak said.

"I was your hostage. You used me," said Fred. "Don't claim any feelings for me as your son when you just left me to die."

"I had to," Fred the Freak said. "My enemies were back, provoking me. Ricky was in town with Destroido at his back, giving you clues as Mr. E. while Cassidy gained your trust as Angel. They flaunted it in my face when Cassidy invaded my house. They must have let Pericles loose, and he had his crack at my home and got my piece. It was intolerable. You would have done the same."

"I'm not a ruthless monster like you," said Fred. "They told me at your fraternity that you ate a live bear, and I can almost believe it."

"That was an exaggeration," said the Freak. "It was a koala."

"That's not better," said Scooby, looking sick.

Fred grabbed him again and rummaged his pockets. "Where is the piece? Did you hide it somewhere?"

"It's not in my pocket? We have find it. That piece is priceless," said the Freak.

Fred turned and ran from him in disgust. Daphne followed.

"Tell me this isn't true," said Sheriff Stone with tears in his eyes.

"Fred, I'm sorry. We'll get through this," Daphne said.

"My whole life has been a lie," Fred said. "I know now why traps meant so much to me. Some part of me must have known I've been in a trap my entire life. I have parents I've never known."

"We'll find them, together," said Daphne.

"I have to ask them why they left me here to be raised by a madman. It's not like I was at home with him the entire time with a gun to my head. They could have tried to get me out, and they didn't. So this is something I have to face alone."

"Alone? But..."

"I'm sorry, Daphne. The engagement is off. I'm leaving Crystal Cove, and I'm leaving tonight."

"Freddy, no!"

"Don't call me Freddy any more. That's the name he gave me, the 'Junior' of his own name because he didn't have the imagination to think of anything else. I don't know the name my parents gave me, and I'm not sure I want that either. Call me Blank."

"What about us? What about Mystery Incorporated?"

"Mystery Incorporated is dead," said Blank, and then he began walking away.

"Shaggy, Scooby, stop him!" said Daphne.

They tried, but Shaggy's parents moved to block him.

"Norville, your father and I have given this a lot of thought," said Paula. "We think it would be best for you to go away for a while."

"Go away? Like where?" asked Shaggy.

"Barnstow Military Academy," said Colton.

"And don't worry about Scooby," said Paula. "We found him a nice farm to live on."

"A farm?" asked Scooby.

"Like, I can't go to military academy. I'm an eater, not a fighter."

Velma felt a bitter pang that Shaggy was going to be taken away from her, and a little twinge of pleasure that Scooby would share her plight. There was nothing she could say that would influence his parents; she could only make things worse. Meanwhile, she had to try to help Fred, or Blank as he now called himself. She called out to him as he went by her. "Wait a second. I have a lead that may help you find your parents, if you want it."

Blank stopped and looked at her. "What?"

"It's the secret behind this mask, and who gave it to us," said Velma, holding up the mask. "Years ago, I think Destroido worked on a super-soldier program for the government, or something like that. They developed a formula that almost worked, but it was missing something. When the program was canceled, they kept back some of the chemical and hid it in the caves, in barrels marked with radiation symbols to keep people away."

"So?"

"The place they chose was right under the bank. Now I'm guessing, but there might have been a leak and Deacon Carlswell was exposed, or he went exploring down there himself. Either way, his system was primed. All he needed was exposure of the pores of his skin to a certain kind of latex rubber, and an adrenaline-fueled surge of strength was triggered.

"A rumor got around in prison, and since then we've had a rash of criminals using rubber masks. Sometimes they got a little stronger by the power of suggestion, sometimes they must have been exposed to the chemical and it really worked.

"Destroido has worked it out, and I'm pretty sure they gave some to Alice May to make her stronger as the Ghost Girl. Amy and the Fish Freaks may have been exposed too, or they couldn't have leaped as high as they did out of the water.

"What does this have to do with my parents?" Blank asked.

"Who has been putting the chemical into a food that all the kids in town eat? Fruitmeir. And he was the one who gave you the mask, not Mr. E. Fruitmeir was trying to protect you in a subtle way, trusting that I would work it out. He makes use of the secret himself; that's why he could stop a hungry Scooby with one hand. He paints his face rather than going masked, but he must trigger himself with those balloons he handles all the time."

"Fruitmeir is my father?" asked Blank.

"Doubtful. He does go around in disguise all the time, but it still would be a huge risk to be discovered in town. I think Fruitmeir is an agent of your father's, keeping an eye out for you."

"I see," said Blank.

"So that would be a good starting point in looking for your parents," said Velma.

"Thanks for the tip," said Blank. "Also for the mask. It may come in very handy."

He grabbed the mask from Velma's hand and put it on, then bounded away.

Daphne watched him go with tears in her eyes. "Nice work, Velma. You've made him a masked villain."

"Me? I just..."

"This is all your fault. If you hadn't made us suspicious of Angel, if you'd gone to her first or kept your suspicions to yourself, then all this would never have happened. You heard the story. Cassidy and Ricky were victims in all this, not the monsters we made them out to be. We could have trusted them and they would have helped us."

"They weren't that pure in everything they did. Remember, Cassidy put a bug on me," said Velma.

"We've got to stop thinking in black and white. We've done some bad things with good motives ourselves. What if Cassidy was just trying to protect us, like she said? Anyway, I'm done arguing with you. Mystery Incorporated is dead, and you helped destroy it."

Daphne, Velma, and Shaggy each went their separate ways. In the Rogers' car, Scooby-Doo had been having a talk with Professor Pericles, who flew off triumphantly with two pieces of the Planispheric Disk.

"You wait, Pericles," said Scooby. "I'll get the gang back together and we'll come after you, or my name isn't Scooby-Dooby-Doooooo!"


End file.
